Nothing New About Paying It Forward

By Cheryl Sparks

Dear Bay Weekly:

My sister was in a very serious car accident where another driver hit her head-on about 20 years ago. She and her five-year-old daughter were both critically injured. My sister was also five months pregnant and lost her unborn baby in the accident.

After recuperating from many broken bones and surgeries, my sister has donated (and continues to) gallons of blood to the American Red Cross to pay them back for helping save her life from that dreaded car accident.

What my sister didn’t know was for the last 20 years she has been paying it forward. Primarily being a single-mom in a rural area, she worked very hard for years in an automotive parts factory until it was shut down a couple of years ago. She was provided the opportunity to finally follow her dream and started college to become a medical assistant. After working a short while in a clinic lab, she was offered an amazing job by the American Red Cross. The Red Cross knew nothing about her blood donations and the reasons behind them. Karma!!!